System and method for higher amortization with PLB and VLB defragmentation

ABSTRACT

A method, computer program product, and computer system for identifying, by a computing device, a plurality of blocks. A maximum number of blocks of the plurality of blocks capable of being copied to a new block may be identified. Data from the maximum number of blocks of the plurality of blocks may be copied to the new block.

BACKGROUND

Modern log structured storage systems generally require garbage collection to create large empty chunks to store, e.g., user data. This may involve user data relocation and creates overhead both for user data movement and virtual layer updates during the defragmentation process.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF DISCLOSURE

In one example implementation, a method, performed by one or more computing devices, may include but is not limited to identifying, by a computing device, a plurality of blocks. A maximum number of blocks of the plurality of blocks capable of being copied to a new block may be identified. Data from the maximum number of blocks of the plurality of blocks may be copied to the new block.

One or more of the following example features may be included. The plurality of blocks may include physical layer blocks (PLBs). Identifying the maximum number of blocks of the plurality of blocks capable of being copied to the new block may include identifying an amount of space currently utilized individually by at least a portion of the plurality of blocks. Copying the data from the maximum number of blocks of the plurality of blocks to the new block may include copying the data from the plurality of blocks with a least amount of space currently utilized. A sum of the amount of space currently utilized individually by the maximum number of blocks may be equal to a size of the new block. The plurality of blocks may be organized according to the amount of space currently utilized individually. The plurality of blocks may be organized into a plurality of buckets according to the amount of space currently utilized individually.

In another example implementation, a computing system may include one or more processors and one or more memories configured to perform operations that may include but are not limited to identifying a plurality of blocks. A maximum number of blocks of the plurality of blocks capable of being copied to a new block may be identified. Data from the maximum number of blocks of the plurality of blocks may be copied to the new block.

One or more of the following example features may be included. The plurality of blocks may include physical layer blocks (PLBs). Identifying the maximum number of blocks of the plurality of blocks capable of being copied to the new block may include identifying an amount of space currently utilized individually by at least a portion of the plurality of blocks. Copying the data from the maximum number of blocks of the plurality of blocks to the new block may include copying the data from the plurality of blocks with a least amount of space currently utilized. A sum of the amount of space currently utilized individually by the maximum number of blocks may be equal to a size of the new block. The plurality of blocks may be organized according to the amount of space currently utilized individually. The plurality of blocks may be organized into a plurality of buckets according to the amount of space currently utilized individually.

In another example implementation, a computer program product may reside on a computer readable storage medium having a plurality of instructions stored thereon which, when executed across one or more processors, may cause at least a portion of the one or more processors to perform operations that may include but are not limited to identifying a plurality of blocks. A maximum number of blocks of the plurality of blocks capable of being copied to a new block may be identified. Data from the maximum number of blocks of the plurality of blocks may be copied to the new block.

One or more of the following example features may be included. The plurality of blocks may include physical layer blocks (PLBs). Identifying the maximum number of blocks of the plurality of blocks capable of being copied to the new block may include identifying an amount of space currently utilized individually by at least a portion of the plurality of blocks. Copying the data from the maximum number of blocks of the plurality of blocks to the new block may include copying the data from the plurality of blocks with a least amount of space currently utilized. A sum of the amount of space currently utilized individually by the maximum number of blocks may be equal to a size of the new block. The plurality of blocks may be organized according to the amount of space currently utilized individually. The plurality of blocks may be organized into a plurality of buckets according to the amount of space currently utilized individually.

The details of one or more example implementations are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other possible example features and/or possible example advantages will become apparent from the description, the drawings, and the claims. Some implementations may not have those possible example features and/or possible example advantages, and such possible example features and/or possible example advantages may not necessarily be required of some implementations.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an example diagrammatic view of a defragmentation process coupled to an example distributed computing network according to one or more example implementations of the disclosure;

FIG. 2 is an example diagrammatic view of a storage system of FIG. 1 according to one or more example implementations of the disclosure;

FIG. 3 is an example diagrammatic view of a storage target of FIG. 1 according to one or more example implementations of the disclosure;

FIG. 4 is an example flowchart of a defragmentation process according to one or more example implementations of the disclosure;

FIG. 5 is an example diagrammatic view of a modern PLB defragmentation garbage collection process according to one or more example implementations of the disclosure;

FIG. 6 is an example diagrammatic view of a redirection process according to one or more example implementations of the disclosure;

FIG. 7 is an example diagrammatic view of a redirection process according to one or more example implementations of the disclosure; and

FIG. 8 is an example diagrammatic view of a plurality of physical layer blocks according to one or more example implementations of the disclosure.

Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

System Overview:

In some implementations, the present disclosure may be embodied as a method, system, or computer program product. Accordingly, in some implementations, the present disclosure may take the form of an entirely hardware implementation, an entirely software implementation (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or an implementation combining software and hardware aspects that may all generally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.” Furthermore, in some implementations, the present disclosure may take the form of a computer program product on a computer-usable storage medium having computer-usable program code embodied in the medium.

In some implementations, any suitable computer usable or computer readable medium (or media) may be utilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. The computer-usable, or computer-readable, storage medium (including a storage device associated with a computing device or client electronic device) may be, for example, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer-readable medium may include the following: an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a digital versatile disk (DVD), a static random access memory (SRAM), a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such as punch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructions recorded thereon, a media such as those supporting the internet or an intranet, or a magnetic storage device. Note that the computer-usable or computer-readable medium could even be a suitable medium upon which the program is stored, scanned, compiled, interpreted, or otherwise processed in a suitable manner, if necessary, and then stored in a computer memory. In the context of the present disclosure, a computer-usable or computer-readable, storage medium may be any tangible medium that can contain or store a program for use by or in connection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

In some implementations, a computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signal with computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, in baseband or as part of a carrier wave. In some implementations, such a propagated signal may take any of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to, electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. In some implementations, the computer readable program code may be transmitted using any appropriate medium, including but not limited to the internet, wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc. In some implementations, a computer readable signal medium may be any computer readable medium that is not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate, propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

In some implementations, computer program code for carrying out operations of the present disclosure may be assembler instructions, instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions, machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions, state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object oriented programming language such as Java®, Smalltalk, C++ or the like. Java® and all Java-based trademarks and logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Oracle and/or its affiliates. However, the computer program code for carrying out operations of the present disclosure may also be written in conventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming language, PASCAL, or similar programming languages, as well as in scripting languages such as Javascript, PERL, or Python. The program code may execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the internet using an Internet Service Provider). In some implementations, electronic circuitry including, for example, programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) or other hardware accelerators, micro-controller units (MCUs), or programmable logic arrays (PLAs) may execute the computer readable program instructions/code by utilizing state information of the computer readable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry, in order to perform aspects of the present disclosure.

In some implementations, the flowchart and block diagrams in the figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of apparatus (systems), methods and computer program products according to various implementations of the present disclosure. Each block in the flowchart and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart and/or block diagrams, may represent a module, segment, or portion of code, which comprises one or more executable computer program instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s)/act(s). These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the computer program instructions, which may execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create the ability to implement one or more of the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks or combinations thereof. It should be noted that, in some implementations, the functions noted in the block(s) may occur out of the order noted in the figures (or combined or omitted). For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved.

In some implementations, these computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks or combinations thereof.

In some implementations, the computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed (not necessarily in a particular order) on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions/acts (not necessarily in a particular order) specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks or combinations thereof.

Referring now to the example implementation of FIG. 1, there is shown defragmentation process 10 that may reside on and may be executed by a computer (e.g., computer 12), which may be connected to a network (e.g., network 14) (e.g., the internet or a local area network). Examples of computer 12 (and/or one or more of the client electronic devices noted below) may include, but are not limited to, a storage system (e.g., a Network Attached Storage (NAS) system, a Storage Area Network (SAN)), a personal computer(s), a laptop computer(s), mobile computing device(s), a server computer, a series of server computers, a mainframe computer(s), or a computing cloud(s). As is known in the art, a SAN may include one or more of the client electronic devices, including a RAID device and a NAS system. In some implementations, each of the aforementioned may be generally described as a computing device. In certain implementations, a computing device may be a physical or virtual device. In many implementations, a computing device may be any device capable of performing operations, such as a dedicated processor, a portion of a processor, a virtual processor, a portion of a virtual processor, portion of a virtual device, or a virtual device. In some implementations, a processor may be a physical processor or a virtual processor. In some implementations, a virtual processor may correspond to one or more parts of one or more physical processors. In some implementations, the instructions/logic may be distributed and executed across one or more processors, virtual or physical, to execute the instructions/logic. Computer 12 may execute an operating system, for example, but not limited to, Microsoft® Windows®; Mac® OS X®; Red Hat® Linux®, Windows® Mobile, Chrome OS, Blackberry OS, Fire OS, or a custom operating system. (Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States, other countries or both; Mac and OS X are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. in the United States, other countries or both; Red Hat is a registered trademark of Red Hat Corporation in the United States, other countries or both; and Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds in the United States, other countries or both).

In some implementations, as will be discussed below in greater detail, a defragmentation process, such as defragmentation process 10 of FIG. 1, may identifying a plurality of blocks. A maximum number of blocks of the plurality of blocks capable of being copied to a new block may be identified. Data from the maximum number of blocks of the plurality of blocks may be copied to the new block.

In some implementations, the instruction sets and subroutines of defragmentation process 10, which may be stored on storage device, such as storage device 16, coupled to computer 12, may be executed by one or more processors and one or more memory architectures included within computer 12. In some implementations, storage device 16 may include but is not limited to: a hard disk drive; all forms of flash memory storage devices; a tape drive; an optical drive; a RAID array (or other array); a random access memory (RAM); a read-only memory (ROM); or combination thereof. In some implementations, storage device 16 may be organized as an extent, an extent pool, a RAID extent (e.g., an example 4D+1P R5, where the RAID extent may include, e.g., five storage device extents that may be allocated from, e.g., five different storage devices), a mapped RAID (e.g., a collection of RAID extents), or combination thereof.

In some implementations, network 14 may be connected to one or more secondary networks (e.g., network 18), examples of which may include but are not limited to: a local area network; a wide area network or other telecommunications network facility; or an intranet, for example. The phrase “telecommunications network facility,” as used herein, may refer to a facility configured to transmit, and/or receive transmissions to/from one or more mobile client electronic devices (e.g., cellphones, etc.) as well as many others.

In some implementations, computer 12 may include a data store, such as a database (e.g., relational database, object-oriented database, triplestore database, etc.) and may be located within any suitable memory location, such as storage device 16 coupled to computer 12. In some implementations, data, metadata, information, etc. described throughout the present disclosure may be stored in the data store. In some implementations, computer 12 may utilize any known database management system such as, but not limited to, DB2, in order to provide multi-user access to one or more databases, such as the above noted relational database. In some implementations, the data store may also be a custom database, such as, for example, a flat file database or an XML database. In some implementations, any other form(s) of a data storage structure and/or organization may also be used. In some implementations, defragmentation process 10 may be a component of the data store, a standalone application that interfaces with the above noted data store and/or an applet/application that is accessed via client applications 22, 24, 26, 28. In some implementations, the above noted data store may be, in whole or in part, distributed in a cloud computing topology. In this way, computer 12 and storage device 16 may refer to multiple devices, which may also be distributed throughout the network.

In some implementations, computer 12 may execute a storage management application (e.g., storage management application 21), examples of which may include, but are not limited to, e.g., a storage system application, a cloud computing application, a data synchronization application, a data migration application, a garbage collection application, or other application that allows for the implementation and/or management of data in a clustered (or non-clustered) environment (or the like). In some implementations, defragmentation process 10 and/or storage management application 21 may be accessed via one or more of client applications 22, 24, 26, 28. In some implementations, defragmentation process 10 may be a standalone application, or may be an applet/application/script/extension that may interact with and/or be executed within storage management application 21, a component of storage management application 21, and/or one or more of client applications 22, 24, 26, 28. In some implementations, storage management application 21 may be a standalone application, or may be an applet/application/script/extension that may interact with and/or be executed within defragmentation process 10, a component of defragmentation process 10, and/or one or more of client applications 22, 24, 26, 28. In some implementations, one or more of client applications 22, 24, 26, 28 may be a standalone application, or may be an applet/application/script/extension that may interact with and/or be executed within and/or be a component of defragmentation process 10 and/or storage management application 21. Examples of client applications 22, 24, 26, 28 may include, but are not limited to, e.g., a storage system application, a cloud computing application, a data synchronization application, a data migration application, a garbage collection application, or other application that allows for the implementation and/or management of data in a clustered (or non-clustered) environment (or the like), a standard and/or mobile web browser, an email application (e.g., an email client application), a textual and/or a graphical user interface, a customized web browser, a plugin, an Application Programming Interface (API), or a custom application. The instruction sets and subroutines of client applications 22, 24, 26, 28, which may be stored on storage devices 30, 32, 34, 36, coupled to client electronic devices 38, 40, 42, 44, may be executed by one or more processors and one or more memory architectures incorporated into client electronic devices 38, 40, 42, 44.

In some implementations, one or more of storage devices 30, 32, 34, 36, may include but are not limited to: hard disk drives; flash drives, tape drives; optical drives; RAID arrays; random access memories (RAM); and read-only memories (ROM). Examples of client electronic devices 38, 40, 42, 44 (and/or computer 12) may include, but are not limited to, a personal computer (e.g., client electronic device 38), a laptop computer (e.g., client electronic device 40), a smart/data-enabled, cellular phone (e.g., client electronic device 42), a notebook computer (e.g., client electronic device 44), a tablet, a server, a television, a smart television, a smart speaker, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, a media (e.g., video, photo, etc.) capturing device, and a dedicated network device. Client electronic devices 38, 40, 42, 44 may each execute an operating system, examples of which may include but are not limited to, Android, Apple® iOS®, Mac® OS X®; Red Hat® Linux®, Windows® Mobile, Chrome OS, Blackberry OS, Fire OS, or a custom operating system.

In some implementations, one or more of client applications 22, 24, 26, 28 may be configured to effectuate some or all of the functionality of defragmentation process 10 (and vice versa). Accordingly, in some implementations, defragmentation process 10 may be a purely server-side application, a purely client-side application, or a hybrid server-side/client-side application that is cooperatively executed by one or more of client applications 22, 24, 26, 28 and/or defragmentation process 10.

In some implementations, one or more of client applications 22, 24, 26, 28 may be configured to effectuate some or all of the functionality of storage management application 21 (and vice versa). Accordingly, in some implementations, storage management application 21 may be a purely server-side application, a purely client-side application, or a hybrid server-side/client-side application that is cooperatively executed by one or more of client applications 22, 24, 26, 28 and/or storage management application 21. As one or more of client applications 22, 24, 26, 28, defragmentation process 10, and storage management application 21, taken singly or in any combination, may effectuate some or all of the same functionality, any description of effectuating such functionality via one or more of client applications 22, 24, 26, 28, defragmentation process 10, storage management application 21, or combination thereof, and any described interaction(s) between one or more of client applications 22, 24, 26, 28, defragmentation process 10, storage management application 21, or combination thereof to effectuate such functionality, should be taken as an example only and not to limit the scope of the disclosure.

In some implementations, one or more of users 46, 48, 50, 52 may access computer 12 and defragmentation process 10 (e.g., using one or more of client electronic devices 38, 40, 42, 44) directly through network 14 or through secondary network 18. Further, computer 12 may be connected to network 14 through secondary network 18, as illustrated with phantom link line 54. Defragmentation process 10 may include one or more user interfaces, such as browsers and textual or graphical user interfaces, through which users 46, 48, 50, 52 may access defragmentation process 10.

In some implementations, the various client electronic devices may be directly or indirectly coupled to network 14 (or network 18). For example, client electronic device 38 is shown directly coupled to network 14 via a hardwired network connection. Further, client electronic device 44 is shown directly coupled to network 18 via a hardwired network connection. Client electronic device 40 is shown wirelessly coupled to network 14 via wireless communication channel 56 established between client electronic device 40 and wireless access point (i.e., WAP) 58, which is shown directly coupled to network 14. WAP 58 may be, for example, an IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11ac, Wi-Fi®, RFID, and/or Bluetooth™ (including Bluetooth™ Low Energy) device that is capable of establishing wireless communication channel 56 between client electronic device 40 and WAP 58. Client electronic device 42 is shown wirelessly coupled to network 14 via wireless communication channel 60 established between client electronic device 42 and cellular network/bridge 62, which is shown by example directly coupled to network 14.

In some implementations, some or all of the IEEE 802.11x specifications may use Ethernet protocol and carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (i.e., CSMA/CA) for path sharing. The various 802.11x specifications may use phase-shift keying (i.e., PSK) modulation or complementary code keying (i.e., CCK) modulation, for example. Bluetooth™ (including Bluetooth™ Low Energy) is a telecommunications industry specification that allows, e.g., mobile phones, computers, smart phones, and other electronic devices to be interconnected using a short-range wireless connection. Other forms of interconnection (e.g., Near Field Communication (NFC)) may also be used.

In some implementations, various I/O requests (e.g., I/O request 15) may be sent from, e.g., client applications 22, 24, 26, 28 to, e.g., computer 12. Examples of I/O request 15 may include but are not limited to, data write requests (e.g., a request that content be written to computer 12) and data read requests (e.g., a request that content be read from computer 12).

Data Storage System:

Referring also to the example implementation of FIGS. 2-3 (e.g., where computer 12 may be configured as a data storage system), computer 12 may include storage processor 100 and a plurality of storage targets (e.g., storage targets 102, 104, 106, 108, 110). In some implementations, storage targets 102, 104, 106, 108, 110 may include any of the above-noted storage devices. In some implementations, storage targets 102, 104, 106, 108, 110 may be configured to provide various levels of performance and/or high availability. For example, storage targets 102, 104, 106, 108, 110 may be configured to form a non-fully-duplicative fault-tolerant data storage system (such as a non-fully-duplicative RAID data storage system), examples of which may include but are not limited to: RAID 3 arrays, RAID 4 arrays, RAID 5 arrays, and/or RAID 6 arrays. It will be appreciated that various other types of RAID arrays may be used without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

While in this particular example, computer 12 is shown to include five storage targets (e.g., storage targets 102, 104, 106, 108, 110), this is for example purposes only and is not intended limit the present disclosure. For instance, the actual number of storage targets may be increased or decreased depending upon, e.g., the level of redundancy/performance/capacity required.

Further, the storage targets (e.g., storage targets 102, 104, 106, 108, 110) included with computer 12 may be configured to form a plurality of discrete storage arrays. For instance, and assuming for example purposes only that computer 12 includes, e.g., ten discrete storage targets, a first five targets (of the ten storage targets) may be configured to form a first RAID array and a second five targets (of the ten storage targets) may be configured to form a second RAID array.

In some implementations, one or more of storage targets 102, 104, 106, 108, 110 may be configured to store coded data (e.g., via storage management process 21), wherein such coded data may allow for the regeneration of data lost/corrupted on one or more of storage targets 102, 104, 106, 108, 110. Examples of such coded data may include but is not limited to parity data and Reed-Solomon data. Such coded data may be distributed across all of storage targets 102, 104, 106, 108, 110 or may be stored within a specific storage target.

Examples of storage targets 102, 104, 106, 108, 110 may include one or more data arrays, wherein a combination of storage targets 102, 104, 106, 108, 110 (and any processing/control systems associated with storage management application 21) may form data array 112.

The manner in which computer 12 is implemented may vary depending upon e.g., the level of redundancy/performance/capacity required. For example, computer 12 may be configured as a SAN (i.e., a Storage Area Network), in which storage processor 100 may be, e.g., a dedicated computing system and each of storage targets 102, 104, 106, 108, 110 may be a RAID device. An example of storage processor 100 may include but is not limited to a VPLEX™ system offered by Dell EMC™ of Hopkinton, Mass.

In the example where computer 12 is configured as a SAN, the various components of computer 12 (e.g., storage processor 100, and storage targets 102, 104, 106, 108, 110) may be coupled using network infrastructure 114, examples of which may include but are not limited to an Ethernet (e.g., Layer 2 or Layer 3) network, a fiber channel network, an InfiniBand network, or any other circuit switched/packet switched network.

As discussed above, various I/O requests (e.g., I/O request 15) may be generated. For example, these I/O requests may be sent from, e.g., client applications 22, 24, 26, 28 to, e.g., computer 12. Additionally/alternatively (e.g., when storage processor 100 is configured as an application server or otherwise), these I/O requests may be internally generated within storage processor 100 (e.g., via storage management process 21). Examples of I/O request 15 may include but are not limited to data write request 116 (e.g., a request that content 118 be written to computer 12) and data read request 120 (e.g., a request that content 118 be read from computer 12).

In some implementations, during operation of storage processor 100, content 118 to be written to computer 12 may be received and/or processed by storage processor 100 (e.g., via storage management process 21). Additionally/alternatively (e.g., when storage processor 100 is configured as an application server or otherwise), content 118 to be written to computer 12 may be internally generated by storage processor 100 (e.g., via storage management process 21).

As discussed above, the instruction sets and subroutines of storage management application 21, which may be stored on storage device 16 included within computer 12, may be executed by one or more processors and one or more memory architectures included with computer 12. Accordingly, in addition to being executed on storage processor 100, some or all of the instruction sets and subroutines of storage management application 21 (and/or defragmentation process 10) may be executed by one or more processors and one or more memory architectures included with data array 112.

In some implementations, storage processor 100 may include front end cache memory system 122. Examples of front end cache memory system 122 may include but are not limited to a volatile, solid-state, cache memory system (e.g., a dynamic RAM cache memory system), a non-volatile, solid-state, cache memory system (e.g., a flash-based, cache memory system), and/or any of the above-noted storage devices.

In some implementations, storage processor 100 may initially store content 118 within front end cache memory system 122. Depending upon the manner in which front end cache memory system 122 is configured, storage processor 100 (e.g., via storage management process 21) may immediately write content 118 to data array 112 (e.g., if front end cache memory system 122 is configured as a write-through cache) or may subsequently write content 118 to data array 112 (e.g., if front end cache memory system 122 is configured as a write-back cache).

In some implementations, one or more of storage targets 102, 104, 106, 108, 110 may include a backend cache memory system. Examples of the backend cache memory system may include but are not limited to a volatile, solid-state, cache memory system (e.g., a dynamic RAM cache memory system), a non-volatile, solid-state, cache memory system (e.g., a flash-based, cache memory system), and/or any of the above-noted storage devices.

Storage Targets:

As discussed above, one or more of storage targets 102, 104, 106, 108, 110 may be a RAID device. For instance, and referring also to FIG. 3, there is shown example target 150, wherein target 150 may be one example implementation of a RAID implementation of, e.g., storage target 102, storage target 104, storage target 106, storage target 108, and/or storage target 110. An example of target 150 may include but is not limited to a VNX™ system offered by Dell EMC™ of Hopkinton, Mass. Examples of storage devices 154, 156, 158, 160, 162 may include one or more electro-mechanical hard disk drives, one or more solid-state/flash devices, and/or any of the above-noted storage devices. It will be appreciated that while the term “disk” or “drive” may be used throughout, these may refer to and be used interchangeably with any types of appropriate storage devices as the context and functionality of the storage device permits.

In some implementations, target 150 may include storage processor 152 and a plurality of storage devices (e.g., storage devices 154, 156, 158, 160, 162). Storage devices 154, 156, 158, 160, 162 may be configured to provide various levels of performance and/or high availability (e.g., via storage management process 21). For example, one or more of storage devices 154, 156, 158, 160, 162 (or any of the above-noted storage devices) may be configured as a RAID 0 array, in which data is striped across storage devices. By striping data across a plurality of storage devices, improved performance may be realized. However, RAID 0 arrays may not provide a level of high availability. Accordingly, one or more of storage devices 154, 156, 158, 160, 162 (or any of the above-noted storage devices) may be configured as a RAID 1 array, in which data is mirrored between storage devices. By mirroring data between storage devices, a level of high availability may be achieved as multiple copies of the data may be stored within storage devices 154, 156, 158, 160, 162.

While storage devices 154, 156, 158, 160, 162 are discussed above as being configured in a RAID 0 or RAID 1 array, this is for example purposes only and not intended to limit the present disclosure, as other configurations are possible. For example, storage devices 154, 156, 158, 160, 162 may be configured as a RAID 3, RAID 4, RAID 5 or RAID 6 array.

While in this particular example, target 150 is shown to include five storage devices (e.g., storage devices 154, 156, 158, 160, 162), this is for example purposes only and not intended to limit the present disclosure. For instance, the actual number of storage devices may be increased or decreased depending upon, e.g., the level of redundancy/performance/capacity required.

In some implementations, one or more of storage devices 154, 156, 158, 160, 162 may be configured to store (e.g., via storage management process 21) coded data, wherein such coded data may allow for the regeneration of data lost/corrupted on one or more of storage devices 154, 156, 158, 160, 162. Examples of such coded data may include but are not limited to parity data and Reed-Solomon data. Such coded data may be distributed across all of storage devices 154, 156, 158, 160, 162 or may be stored within a specific storage device.

The manner in which target 150 is implemented may vary depending upon e.g., the level of redundancy/performance/capacity required. For example, target 150 may be a RAID device in which storage processor 152 is a RAID controller card and storage devices 154, 156, 158, 160, 162 are individual “hot-swappable” hard disk drives. Another example of target 150 may be a RAID system, examples of which may include but are not limited to an NAS (i.e., Network Attached Storage) device or a SAN (i.e., Storage Area Network).

In some implementations, storage target 150 may execute all or a portion of storage management application 21. The instruction sets and subroutines of storage management application 21, which may be stored on a storage device (e.g., storage device 164) coupled to storage processor 152, may be executed by one or more processors and one or more memory architectures included with storage processor 152. Storage device 164 may include but is not limited to any of the above-noted storage devices.

As discussed above, computer 12 may be configured as a SAN, wherein storage processor 100 may be a dedicated computing system and each of storage targets 102, 104, 106, 108, 110 may be a RAID device. Accordingly, when storage processor 100 processes data requests 116, 120, storage processor 100 (e.g., via storage management process 21) may provide the appropriate requests/content (e.g., write request 166, content 168 and read request 170) to, e.g., storage target 150 (which is representative of storage targets 102, 104, 106, 108 and/or 110).

In some implementations, during operation of storage processor 152, content 168 to be written to target 150 may be processed by storage processor 152 (e.g., via storage management process 21). Storage processor 152 may include cache memory system 172. Examples of cache memory system 172 may include but are not limited to a volatile, solid-state, cache memory system (e.g., a dynamic RAM cache memory system) and/or a non-volatile, solid-state, cache memory system (e.g., a flash-based, cache memory system). During operation of storage processor 152, content 168 to be written to target 150 may be received by storage processor 152 (e.g., via storage management process 21) and initially stored (e.g., via storage management process 21) within front end cache memory system 172.

The Defragmentation Process:

As discussed above and referring also at least to the example implementations of FIGS. 4-7, defragmentation process 10 may identify 400, by a computing device, a plurality of blocks. Defragmentation process 10 may identify 402 a maximum number of blocks of the plurality of blocks capable of being copied to a new block. Defragmentation process 10 may copy 404 data from the maximum number of blocks of the plurality of blocks to the new block.

As noted above, modern log structured storage systems generally require garbage collection to create large empty chunks to store, e.g., user data. This may involve user data relocation and creates overhead both for user data movement and virtual layer updates during the defragmentation process. As will be discussed below, defragmentation process 10 may reach higher amortization during PLB defragmentation.

For example, in some implementations, defragmentation process 10 may identify 400 a plurality of blocks (e.g., physical layer blocks (PLBs)). For instance, and referring at least to the example FIG. 5, an example diagrammatic view of a modern PLB defragmentation (garbage collection) process 500 is shown. The modern log structured storage systems usually use 3-level indirection scheme to access user data:

Leaf: Logical Block Address (LBA) representation layer, generally organized as a tree. Each leaf entry generally corresponds to a specific LBA range.

Virtual Layer Block (VLB): Isolates LBA layer from physical storage. Encapsulates physical location of the user data and allows data relocation without necessity to update Leafs.

PLB: In log structured systems, the data is stored in contiguous chunks of data, called PLB (e.g., 2 MB chunks). The actual user data pages reside inside, and they may be referenced by one or more VLBs.

As such, the structure may be generally described as: Leaf (LBA representation)→Virtual Block (VLB)→Physical Block (PLB).

For example, after a write operation: Leaf, corresponding to LBA will point to VLB that contains references to PLBs where the user data is stored. When the write is deduped, a second leaf will point to the same VLB as a first leaf. Since there might be multiple leaves pointing to the same virtual block, VLBs may manage reference count for every entry. To achieve efficiency, a write to empty PLB is preferred. Therefore, a PLB's defragmentation process is applied to merge PLBs with free space and create empty PLBs for future use. In the simplest case for example purposes only and ease of explanation, PLB defragmentation takes 2 PLBs and merges their data to a single PLB as follows and shown in FIG. 5:

Initial state: VLB1→PLB1, VLB2→PLB2

PLB defragmentation process:

Take data from PLB1, PLB2

Write into PLB3

Releasing PLB2, PLB1.

After, PLB defragmentation state is: VLB1→PLB3, VLB2→PLB3

Note that PLB defragmentation reduced only the number of used Physical Blocks. The number of Virtual Blocks remains the same. All VLBs are updated to point to the newly created PLB. Thus, the example problem of current VLB fragmentation arises. The more PLB defragmentations run, the more virtual blocks are aggregated and less populated they become. This increases VLBs usages, reduces updates amortization and might break various system level limitations like maximum Virtual Blocks per Physical Block.

Some techniques may try to address this by VLB defragmentation using redirection. For example, and referring at least to the example FIG. 6, an example diagrammatic view of a redirection process 600 is shown. The main idea of this solution is assigning each VLB a generation index. Leaves will point to an entry into specific generation. The redirection itself is applied by moving the data reference to a new VLB, increasing the old VLB generation index and storing the link to the new VLB in an old VLB in a redirection table for the previous generation. When this happens, the link from the Leaf will hit the VLB with a different index, will read the redirection table and go to the redirected VLB. This method allows relocation of user data to a new PLB without updating the Leaf (only the VLB update is required).

Amortization Calculations:

Referring to the example FIG. 7, a simple approach of redirection 700 is shown. Assume C is the average uniform compression factor, and N is the number of PLBs taken for defragmentation. In the simple approach, 2 PLBs with C VLBs each are being redirected into the new single PLB with C VLBs. This is possible assuming we select the PLBs with total utilized capacity equals to 1 PLB, assuming C is a uniform compression factor.

-   -   Writes 1 PLB     -   Writes 1*C VLB     -   Redirects 2*C VLBs     -   Total released 1 PLB and 1*C VLBs (2*C redirected VLBs−1*C VLB)     -   Release 2 VLBs, consume 1 VLB         Release 1 VLB     -   Total redirected entries equivalent to a single VLB (otherwise         garbage collection may not be performed)     -   Everything is multiplied by factor C)     -   Total redirected entries: 1*C VLBs (512*C VLB entries)

As is clear, this solution is not optimal. Consider the common case where defragmentation is run over N PLBs that are referenced by N*C VLBs. For each cycle enough PLBs are accumulated to write a fully populated PLB:

-   -   Write 1 PLB     -   Write 1*C VLBs     -   Redirect N*C VLBs (notably, it is not necessarily important how         many redirected VLBs there are, but rather how many entries go         through redirection, and in both approaches it is the same         number: 1*C VLB entries.)     -   Total release N−1 PLBs and (N−1)*C VLBs     -   Total redirected entries: 1*C VLB (512)

The optimized method had the same amount of work to be done:

-   -   Write (1 PLB)+Write (1*C VLBs)

But the effective result is different:

-   -   Basic method: 1 PLB, 1*C VLBs released     -   Defragmentation process 10 method: N−1 PLBs, (N−1)*C VLBs         released

The more PLBs taken into a single defragmentation cycle, the better amortization is achieved by the factor of N. Therefore, as will be discussed below, defragmentation process 10 may identify and select the maximum number of the most free PLBs for a single defragmentation cycle.

For example, in some implementations, defragmentation process 10 may identify 400 a plurality of blocks (e.g., physical layer blocks (PLBs)). For instance, and referring to the example implementation of FIG. 8, a plurality of PLBs 800 are shown that are eligible for being copied to a new block during defragmentation. Each of these PLBs may be identified 400 by defragmentation process 10.

In some implementations, defragmentation process 10 may identify 402 a maximum number of blocks of the plurality of blocks capable of being copied to a new block. For instance, assume for example purposes only that each PLB is filled at the capacity indicated. Based on defragmentation overhead calculation, it is not efficient to perform 2 PLBS→1 PLB operation. Instead it is much better to create a new PLB from as many smaller PLBs as possible (i.e., the maximum number of PLBs that can be stored in the new PLB). That is, in the general case, PLB defragmentation should select the set of PLBs and VLBs as large as possible so that sum of all the entries in the PLBs is equal to the size of one single PLB (the new PLB). This strategy results in highest amortization. As such, identifying 402 the maximum number of blocks of the plurality of blocks capable of being copied to the new block may include identifying 406 an amount of space currently utilized individually by at least a portion of the plurality of blocks, where a sum of the amount of space currently utilized individually by the maximum number of blocks may be equal to a size of the new block (e.g., 2 MB). For example, while it may be possible to copy PLB9 (at 75% capacity) and PLB3 (at 25% capacity) in a single cycle into the new PLB (at 100% capacity, or 2 MB, after copying), doing so creates overhead of resources required to do so (e.g., redirection). Instead, by identifying the capacity of each PLB individually, defragmentation process 10 may determine that the amount of resources required to copy PLB1 (at 5% capacity), PLB4 (at 4% capacity), PLB5 (at 1% capacity), PLB2 (at 10% capacity), PLB7 (at 30% capacity), and PLB6 (at 50% capacity) into the new PLB (at 100% capacity, or 2 MB, after copying) would be lower (e.g., the amortization is higher and the number of redirections in the system is reduced), as more PLBs are being copied in a single cycle. As such, in some implementations, defragmentation process 10 may copy 404 data from the identified maximum number of blocks (i.e., PLB1, PLB4, PLB5, PLB2, PLB7, and PLB6) of the plurality of blocks to the new block (PLB NEW).

In some implementations, copying 404 the data from the maximum number of blocks of the plurality of blocks to the new block may include copying 408 the data from the plurality of blocks with a least amount of space currently utilized. For instance, by copying the blocks with the least amount of space currently being utilized per block (as opposed to copying the blocks with higher amounts of space currently utilized, such as PLB9 and PLB3), there is a greater chance that more blocks will be able to be copied in a single cycle.

In some implementations, the plurality of blocks may be organized according to the amount of space currently utilized individually (e.g., in increasing or decreasing order). As another example, the plurality of blocks may be organized into a plurality of buckets according to the amount of space currently utilized individually. For instance, the PLBs may be arranged according to their utilized capacity in buckets (shown in FIG. 8). For example, suppose there are 10 buckets for capacity, then PLBs that are 43.4% full will be in bucket of, e.g., 40%-50%, and 74% will go to bucket of, e.g., 70%-80%, etc.

In some implementations, for each PLB, there may be a small PLBDesc (PLB descriptor) metadata block that holds “back pointers” from PLB to VLB. It may also hold any additional metadata associated with this PLB, and capacity bucket might be stored there. Notably, the bucket association information is generally not stored persistently. Instead may only be stored in volatile memory and during recovery it is lazy reevaluated. There may be a background thread that reads the PLB, its associated VLB and reconstructs the PLB capacity bucket.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular implementations only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. As used herein, the language “at least one of A, B, and C” (and the like) should be interpreted as covering only A, only B, only C, or any combination of the three, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps (not necessarily in a particular order), operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps (not necessarily in a particular order), operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents (e.g., of all means or step plus function elements) that may be in the claims below are intended to include any structure, material, or act for performing the function in combination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. The description of the present disclosure has been presented for purposes of illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the disclosure in the form disclosed. Many modifications, variations, substitutions, and any combinations thereof will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosure. The implementation(s) were chosen and described in order to explain the principles of the disclosure and the practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the disclosure for various implementation(s) with various modifications and/or any combinations of implementation(s) as are suited to the particular use contemplated.

Having thus described the disclosure of the present application in detail and by reference to implementation(s) thereof, it will be apparent that modifications, variations, and any combinations of implementation(s) (including any modifications, variations, substitutions, and combinations thereof) are possible without departing from the scope of the disclosure defined in the appended claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method comprising: identifying, by a computing device, a plurality of blocks organized into a plurality of buckets within a log structured storage system and a background thread, wherein the plurality of blocks includes a plurality of physical layer blocks (PLBs), wherein each of the PLBs in the plurality of PLBs is associated with a PLB descriptor (PLBDesc) metadata block that comprises a back pointer from a PLB to a virtual layer block (VLB) and a capacity, wherein the back pointer comprises metadata associated with a PLB of the plurality of PLBs, wherein information stored within the capacity bucket is stored in a volatile memory during a recovery, wherein the background thread is configured to read one or more of the plurality of PLBs, read a VLB associated with the one or more of the plurality of PLBs, and reconstruct the capacity bucket; identifying a maximum number of blocks of the plurality of blocks capable of being copied to a new block; and copying data from the maximum number of blocks of the plurality of blocks to the new block.
 2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein identifying the maximum number of blocks of the plurality of blocks capable of being copied to the new block includes identifying an amount of space currently utilized individually by at least a portion of the plurality of blocks.
 3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2 wherein copying the data from the maximum number of blocks of the plurality of blocks to the new block includes copying the data from the plurality of blocks with a least amount of space currently utilized.
 4. The computer-implemented method of claim 2 wherein a sum of an amount of space currently utilized individually by the maximum number of blocks is equal to a size of the new block.
 5. The computer-implemented method of claim 2 wherein the plurality of blocks are organized according to the amount of space currently utilized individually.
 6. The computer-implemented method of claim 5 wherein the plurality of blocks are organized into a plurality of buckets according to the amount of space currently utilized individually.
 7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, identifying a maximum number of blocks of the plurality of blocks capable of being copied to a new block includes utilizing an average uniform compression factor.
 8. A computer program product residing on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having a plurality of instructions stored thereon which, when executed across one or more processors, causes at least a portion of the one or more processors to perform operations comprising: identifying a plurality of blocks organized into a plurality of buckets within a log structured storage system and a background thread, wherein the plurality of blocks includes a plurality of physical layer blocks (PLBs), wherein each of the PLBs in the plurality of PLBs is associated with a PLB descriptor (PLBDesc) metadata block that comprises a back pointer from a PLB to a virtual layer block (VLB) and a capacity, wherein the back pointer comprises metadata associated with a PLB of the plurality of PLBs, wherein information stored within the capacity bucket is stored in a volatile memory during a recovery, wherein the background thread is configured to read one or more of the plurality of PLBs, read a VLB associated with the one or more of the plurality of PLBs, and reconstruct the capacity bucket; identifying a maximum number of blocks of the plurality of blocks capable of being copied to a new block; and copying data from the maximum number of blocks of the plurality of blocks to the new block.
 9. The computer program product of claim 8 wherein identifying the maximum number of blocks of the plurality of blocks capable of being copied to the new block includes identifying an amount of space currently utilized individually by at least a portion of the plurality of blocks.
 10. The computer program product of claim 9 wherein copying the data from the maximum number of blocks of the plurality of blocks to the new block includes copying the data from the plurality of blocks with a least amount of space currently utilized.
 11. The computer program product of claim 9 wherein a sum of an amount of space currently utilized individually by the maximum number of blocks is equal to a size of the new block.
 12. The computer program product of claim 9 wherein the plurality of blocks are organized according to the amount of space currently utilized individually.
 13. The computer program product of claim 12 wherein the plurality of blocks are organized into a plurality of buckets according to the amount of space currently utilized individually.
 14. A computing system including one or more processors and one or more memories configured to perform operations comprising: identifying, by a computing device, a plurality of blocks organized into a plurality of buckets within a log structured storage system and a background thread, wherein the plurality of blocks includes a plurality of physical layer blocks (PLBs), wherein each of the PLBs in the plurality of PLBs is associated with a PLB descriptor (PLBDesc) metadata block that comprises a back pointer from a PLB to a virtual layer block (VLB) and a capacity, wherein the back pointer comprises metadata associated with a PLB of the plurality of PLBs, wherein information stored within the capacity bucket is stored in a volatile memory during a recovery, wherein the background thread is configured to read one or more of the plurality of PLBs, read a VLB associated with the one or more of the plurality of PLBs, and reconstruct the capacity bucket; identifying a maximum number of blocks of the plurality of blocks capable of being copied to a new block; and copying data from the maximum number of blocks of the plurality of blocks to the new block.
 15. The computing system of claim 14 wherein identifying the maximum number of blocks of the plurality of blocks capable of being copied to the new block includes identifying an amount of space currently utilized individually by at least a portion of the plurality of blocks.
 16. The computing system of claim 15 wherein copying the data from the maximum number of blocks of the plurality of blocks to the new block includes copying the data from the plurality of blocks with a least amount of space currently utilized.
 17. The computing system of claim 15 wherein a sum of an amount of space currently utilized individually by the maximum number of blocks is equal to a size of the new block.
 18. The computing system of claim 15 wherein the plurality of blocks are organized according to the amount of space currently utilized individually. 